Variety of corn for popcorn: what are they called, cultivation and storage with a photo

Among the varieties of corn, popcorn is popular. Popularly called simply popcorn, it is loved by both children and adults. This is a he althy, tasty and low-calorie product containing vitamins and trace elements.

You can get such products with self-growing at their summer cottage. The main thing is to choose the right variety, follow the conditions for care, and then heat the grains in a pan and eat popcorn.

What should be the seeds for popcorn?

Corn seeds can be divided into two varieties - sugar grade (or maize) and for popcorn. In order for the grains to pop, they must have a low content of starch, protein and fat, a thin shell that resembles a varnished surface, but tightly adheres to the surface of the seeds.

It bursts when heated in a frying pan with the lid closed. Steam begins to evenly distribute in the grains, which causes the grain to burst and shade. If the grains are ripe and properly stored, the corn will open perfectly.

Famous varieties for popcorn

To get your favorite popcorn, well-known popular popcorn varieties are suitable:

1. Volcano. This plant has a height of up to 2 meters. It is a thermophilic culture. The grains are colored yellow. The seeds resemble rice grains. Cobs have a maximum length of 22 cm. Each can produce about 120 grams of grain.
2. Pop. It has a small height - about 130 cm. Despite this, the culture gives a large harvest. Cobs dyed yellow have grains up to 250 grams.
3. Zeya. Considered an early maturing variety. It matures in 80 days. The grains are dark red in color. They are pointed on one side and rounded on the other.
4. Hotel. Also an early maturing variety. It has a number of advantages over other varieties in that it easily tolerates drought. The ears are about 20 cm long, the grains are yellow, and the plant grows to a height of about 2 meters.
5. Granddaughter's joy. The variety is early maturing. When ripe, the grains become orange, the cobs are small - about 12 cm. It grows up to 1.5 meters. The variety is valued for its high yield. But these plants are demanding for watering and fertilizing, they do not tolerate drought.

Among the early varieties, there are early ripening plants, the cobs of which are small, 5-10 cm. The height is also small - 120 cm. The name of this variety is Red popcorn. Attracts with excellent yield and taste.

Cultivation

To make your own popcorn, you first need to choose a variety of corn suitable for popcorn, which corresponds to natural conditions, and try to cultivate it in your garden.

To understand what variety you need, you should consider the following nuances and features:

1. Corn can be planted on clayey, loamy, chernozem, podzolic soils. It does not grow only on sand, this is due to the fact that corn grows high: most varieties reach 2 meters.
2. To keep the plant in the wind, it will be necessary to form powerful roots, and on loose soil this is impossible. It's bad if the corn falls, it will affect the crop.
3. All varieties of corn are heat-loving plants, so it is necessary to plant seeds when a constant temperature is established and the earth warms up to 12-15 ° C.
4. Growing is best in a well-lit area.
5. It is desirable that the area be flat.
6. Swampy places are not suitable. Corn does not like standing water after watering or rain.
7. It is necessary to remember: every year it is recommended to change the place of planting of corn, taking into account its predecessors. A place of beds is suitable if tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and beets grew on it.
8. Corn is not recommended to be planted in one row, as the yield will drop sharply. Need to plant about 3-5 rows.
9. Before planting corn grains in open ground, it is recommended to soak them for a day in warm water, pre-treated with potassium permanganate. Once they swell, it's time to sow.

It is necessary to choose the landing method, respecting the distance of 50x50. The soil is pre-cultivated with a rake, with the addition of nitrogen fertilizers. You will need to pull out all the weeds, and water the holes, then plant 3 seeds in each, deepening by 2-3 cm and sprinkling with earth.

So that the soil does not dry out, you can cover the wells with plastic caps made from transparent bottles. Shooting is recommended to wait about 12 days.

After the popcorn corn has grown, the strongest of the three plants is selected, the rest are removed.

Care

When the weather is favorable, corn is easy to care for, especially if you plant drought-tolerant varieties. Such plants will only need water once a week, while moisture-loving plants, such as Vnuchkina Joy, require almost daily watering.

To get a big harvest, it is recommended to feed the plants, and for this you need to know what fertilizers to apply:

• After the corn sprouts, feed with organic fertilizer 3-4 times a month.
• When "panicles" appear, nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers will be needed.
• When cob formation begins, it is advisable to apply nitrogen-potassium fertilizers.

Popping corn cannot tolerate weed growth and must be removed regularly. Pests such as moths, Swedish fly and wireworms can also negatively affect the crop.

Important to know: if there is no wind, corn does not pollinate well, so you will need to shake the stems yourself so that the pollen on the panicles falls on the cob embryos located in the axils of the leaves.

How to harvest and store crops?

Cobs should be harvested only when they are dry, if harvested earlier in the raw form, then the opening of corn when making popcorn will decrease. To accelerate ripening, it is recommended to open the cobs during its growth, exposing the grains, but it is not recommended to cut off the “clothes”.

After harvesting, it is important to know how to properly store. A cool, ventilated room is best for cobs. It is very important that it is dry. Dried cobs are put in a cloth bag or mesh for storage, while it is not recommended to separate the grains.

How to make popcorn at home?

Making popcorn is much easier than cooking any dish. To do this, you need to prepare a frying pan, preferably a cast-iron and gas stove. To get popcorn with caramel you will need:

• corn kernels, about 1/4 cup;
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
• granulated sugar - 1 tablespoon.

For cooking, take a dry frying pan, pour vegetable oil into it, cover with a lid and put it on the stove to heat. Then pour out the corn kernels, granulated sugar and be sure to cover with a lid.

After the contents of the pan warm up well, you can hear the grains begin to open. As soon as everything calms down, it is best to pour the contents of the pan into a deep plate so that the caramel does not start to burn.

To get popcorn with powdered sugar, you need to cook about the same number of grains for popcorn, vegetable oil, but cook popcorn without adding sugar. After the popcorn is cooked, it is poured into a bowl and sprinkled with powdered sugar on top, mixing well. You can also s alt: to the taste of lovers.

Popcorn is considered a nutritious food that promotes satiety. Those who monitor their weight should remember that this is a low-calorie product. It is prepared from special varieties of corn that can be grown in your garden plot. Growing grains does not have any particular difficulties: the main thing is to let the corn ripen well before harvesting the cobs.Store in a breathable fabric bag.

Recommended